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Protest for the Rights of the Homeless

Know your rights!

By Jordan MartinezPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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"Fly-A-Sign" Loophole

Homelessness is a growing problem within The United States of America. It almost seems like there is an underground war between the state and the homeless. As the problem ever so slowly grows, large cities are making life more and more difficult. When will our society have programs that give desperate people options and hope?

Those who have stumbled into homelessness are finding a place to rest peacefully almost impossible, especially within populated areas where homelessness statistically peaks. Cities have scattered sharp rocks in deserted areas where homeless were known to sleep, dividers on benches, police making people move, and states making it illegal to panhandle or fly-a-sign. These aesthetic appealing laws and regulations have a common subtext, we care more about profit than human life, but this is common for capitalistic societies. Yes it is somewhat understandable that cities don't want people sleeping on benches at parks or on the sidewalk, but when somebody is homeless they don't have a choice and it is a human need to have to sleep to function.

The other day I saw a video on Facebook, if I can remember correctly, SEVEN cops made one homeless lady move her camp away from the front of a business. What we are seeing here is the value of life decreasing, yet nobody ever wants to look outside of their own life to see it is their own life whose value is decreasing. The question is, why does the system invest in all these ways to make life harder for people who already have it hard enough?

If the cities don't want homeless people, why aren't there more programs that help the homeless get back on their feet? Possibly even a park-type area that has a few dozen plastic pods that are weatherproof, where the homeless could sleep in and also have public showers. Finding a job homeless with no way to bathe is practically impossible. On top of that, cities don't want to have stinky bums all over, yet the cities yet barely do anything to prevent this. City owned public showers could make a difference.

The homeless have to go through desperate, humiliating measures just to be able to get a warm meal for the night, on top of that, panhandling as well as flying a sign is illegal. They have to risk getting arrested just to eat. If a homeless person were to lay down on the side of the road to sleep, they become vulnerable to criminals and, ironically worst then the criminals, in the mind of many homeless, is harassment from the police. Being homeless is not being a freeloader, it is a full-time job and extremely stressful.

In order to battle this legally, I propose we form a peaceful protest called, "Protest for the Rights of the Homeless." In the USA when protesting, you have the right to assemble on any public property, you can protest in anyway you see fit meaning: stand, sit, sing, scream, sleep, you can hold signs stating ur protesting and also asking for donations for the homeless. This is a major loophole in the law, and with this right empowering the homeless, the state will no longer have power over them. Remember, keep it peaceful at all costs, if peace is lost then the protest can be disbanded, but even so it can always be renamed and restarted. As a whole nation assembles, so as an individual you are still assembled if you decide to take up the cause and you are the only person around you. If you are given trouble and arrested, state you are peacefully protesting, once you get to court you will be released and you could even sue the county and/or state for violating your rights. Talk to local journalist if you must. The right to protest cannot be debated!

First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

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